Cache County officials are investigating options to respond to Logan’s threatened cut-off of countywide waste collection services.
CACHE COUNTY – In their first public response after learning of a threat by Logan City to withdraw from the current contract to provide countywide trash collection, members of the Cache County Council seemed to signal their willingness to call the city’s bluff.
After years of cooperation in terms of environmental services between Cache Valley’s largest governmental entities, Logan Mayor Holly Daines notified county officials on Feb. 22 that Logan now wants to bow out of that arrangement.
“Subsequent to that announcement,” County Executive David Zook explained, “there was a meeting held in which all of the county’s other mayors met with myself and three of our council members. They were our Chair Barbara Y. Tidwell and council members (Gordon A.) Zilles and (David L.) Erickson.
“At that meeting, we discussed potential options as a result of a pullout by Logan City. It was decided that one of the first steps that group wanted to take was to do a request for proposals (RFP) to investigate the possibility of contracting out for solid waste collection with a private hauler.“
While insisting that her Feb. 22 announcement was not an “ultimatum” to county officials, Daines also suggested that Logan might continue in its current waste collection role if the county would accept a new extended contract, with long-term cancellation provisions. That contract would also have to include provisions giving city officials permitting guarantees and control of trash collection rates.
But county officials seem determined to “go it alone” rather than letting Logan officials dictate the terms of a new contract for waste collection services.
“I really think (seeking a private hauler) is what’s best for the county,” according to council member Karl B. Ward. “We are the only county around that has a public entity collecting all the garbage.”
Ward said that he has met with one of the owners of Atlas Disposal and now thinks that a private waste collection contract may be a “win-win” proposition for county residents.
“Looking at the numbers,” Ward explained, “(the Atlas representative) said that he thought they could (provide waste collection) cheaper than than what we’re now paying Logan City.”
Zook agreed that several of the people involved with his committee of county mayors are thinking along those same lines.
Atlas Disposal is a private enterprise offering trash collection services along the entire Wasatch Front including Weber, Davis, Salt Lake and Utah counties.
Cache County’s current contract with Logan City for trash collection services allows either party to terminate with one year’s notice.
“There is great risk to Logan if we continue to purchase additional equipment, hire new personnel, build new facilities and expand our operations only to have the contract terminated,” Daines stated in her Feb. 22 announcement.
“Our thought,” she explained “is that we will continue to provide collection service for the next two years – until the end of 2023 if necessary – to allow everyone to develop a smooth transition to alternative collection services.”
Daines explained that one of the primary motivations for the city’s change of heart regarding its trash collection contract with Cache County is the valley’s growth over the past decade.
“You may not realize it,” she told county council members, “but, currently, 71 percent of our residential collection equipment is (used) for service outside of Logan.”
But the threatened cancellation of the countywide waste collection contract could also be pay-back for a dispute with county officials over plans by Logan to create a compost site in rural Benson to process solid wastes from the valley’s regional water treatment plant.
When local residents objected to the plan, members of the county council denied needed permission for that compost site to be created on land already owned by Logan in Benson.
That decision cost the city of Logan $1.5 million.
“The North Valley landfill, transfer station and green waste facility will continue to be open to everyone,” Daines added. “However, the time has come for Logan to ‘right size’ our garbage collection operations so we can efficiently respond to the needs of Logan residents and businesses.”
Zook said that members of his ad-hoc panel of local mayors and county council members will meet soon to review the text of their draft request for proposals.